Minding The Generation Gap In The Inter-Generational Workplace
Understanding Our Differences Is The Key To Getting Along
At the average workplace, you’re likely to find millennials working in tandem with Gen Xers and baby boomers. Despite often easy rapports and good working relationships between the three, generational differences still rear their heads.
Frustrations Over Generational Differences
Boomers complain that millennials don’t have the same kind of work ethic as they do, and millennials get irritated that the boomers still rely on paper and aren’t as good with technology.
But for boomers who are often the first to arrive at work and the last to leave, seeing the millennials regularly rush out the door right at quitting time can be frustrating.
And the Gen Xers? They are frustrated with BOTH the boomers and millennials.
Frustrations over generational differences in the workplace are nothing new. But today, three and sometimes four or five generations are competing for time and attention in the workplace.
With each generation having its own value systems, how can we all just get along?
Bridging the Generational Gap
To bridge that generation gap, it helps to understand each generation, say the experts.
Chuck Underwood is the author of “America’s Generations in the Workplace, Marketplace and Living Room,” and founder of The Generational Imperative, Inc., an Ohio-based generational consulting firm. He explains that every generation is shaped by different values, often a reaction to the values of the generation before it.
With most workplaces being made up of representatives from multiple generations, it helps to understand how each generation thinks and functions, Underwood says.
Millenials: Millennials, who are roughly between the ages of 20 and 40, crave variety and are frequent job hoppers. They grew up immersed in technology and tend to be group-focused, idealists, and activists.
GenX: Generation X is between the ages of 40 and 57 and is starting to move into the C-Suite and power positions at work, according to Underwood. They tend to be less trusting, often having grown up as latch-key children and saddled with student loan debt. But they are also efficient and independent workers.
Baby Boomers: Baby Boomers are between 57 and 75, have a strong work ethic, and are loyal to their organizations, but struggle to keep up with changes in technology and new ideas.
Then there is the silent generation, those over 75 who continue to come to work because they enjoy it, and are often found in the fields of law, health care, and architecture.
Finding Common Ground
Each generation brings perspectives and gifts that can benefit the others, according to Underwood.
The key is to find the common ground between the groups, which makes it easier for everyone to work together. Because regardless of age, we all want a fine quality of life, stimulating work, and bosses who are fair and virtuous.
It’s easy for us to blame the problems in the workplace (and the world) on the generations before or after us, but the truth is we all share blame and credit for the good and the bad.
We can all stand to learn from the positive and negative qualities of those older and younger than us.
One effective strategy to heal the generational divide in the workplace is to offer workshops to employees, whether in-person or virtual, which explain generation differences and how they affect work styles.
Because, as Underwood says in his book, by understanding each generation, we can better relate to and work with the generations that are different than our own.
By healing the communication gap, we can bridge the generation gap.
About the Author
Diana Klurfeld has been in the health care industry for well over decade in NYC. She and her husband, Alex Klurfeld, are calling attention to its shortcomings. During her time in the healthcare industry, Diana and Alex have had the opportunity to work alongside of some of the best health care administrators and doctors in the country.
